{"id":2382,"date":"2016-11-24T12:28:53","date_gmt":"2016-11-24T08:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/barevarmenia.com\/travelblog\/?p=2382"},"modified":"2016-11-24T12:55:39","modified_gmt":"2016-11-24T08:55:39","slug":"tourism-market-armenia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barevarmenia.com\/travelblog\/tourism-market-armenia\/","title":{"rendered":"Regional Post Caucasus. Inbound tourism market of independent Armenia"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Regional<\/a>This article is reposted from the Regional Post Magazine<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>N1-2016.\u00a0Interview of Karen Antashyan the founder of Barev Armenia travel company.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Introduction\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Inbound tourism market of independent Armenia has experienced significant changes during the recent 25 years.\u00a0Initially, during the first decade of independence tourism was out of question, as the war and the economic collapse following the breakup of the Soviet Union were risks which could not be combined with such an entertaining and leisure activities as tourism. So tourism began to develop in the early 2000\u2019s, when there was a more or less stable economic situation in Armenia. The first tourists which our agency hosted were our compatriots from the Diaspora. The fall of the iron curtain encouraged them to reconsider their concept of Armenia as homeland and to start visiting here together with their families, or in groups composed of certain community or organization\u00a0members. A large flow from the Diaspora shaped Armenian tourism with its advantages and disadvantages.
\nFor an Armenian by origin, who has never been in his homeland, visiting\u00a0Armenia becomes an exciting mix of\u00a0tourism, pilgrimage and repatriation,\u00a0and it is not quite hard to satisfy such\u00a0a person, as everything becomes so interesting\u00a0and emotional for him. Places\u00a0strongly associating with the propaganda\u00a0of the Armenian identity, especially\u00a0churches, landscapes of Ararat, Tsitsernakaberd\u00a0(The Armenian Genocide\u00a0memorial complex) are of great interest\u00a0among such tourists, as well as stories\u00a0about being the first nation to adopt\u00a0Christianity as a state religion and being\u00a0the first in many spheres, being a most\u00a0ancient nation are ideas, pleasing the\u00a0Armenian Diaspora and multiplying their\u00a0excitement. The advantage of this is the\u00a0fact that without possessing a travel and\u00a0tourism industry Armenia managed to\u00a0generate a huge demand in the market.
\nProbably no one has ever spoken about\u00a0the main disadvantage of the sphere,\u00a0as the idea can be labeled as a \u201ctreason\u00a0against the nation\u201d. So the idea is that\u00a0the touristic product that was so pleasant\u00a0for the Armenian Diaspora became the stereotype of the Armenian tourism\u00a0 for over 10 years. There was nothing\u00a0else but to show Garni and Geghard,\u00a0Ejmiadzin and Zvartnots, and dozens of\u00a0other churches to the tourist, as well as\u00a0to make khorovats (barbeque) for them,\u00a0to see them off and to watch him leaving\u00a0happy and excited.
\nThis completely non-competitive\u00a0market also had a negative effect of\u00a0blocking the development of touristic\u00a0infrastructure, as we felt no internal\u00a0responsibility to build more comfortable\u00a0and luxury hotels with high level\u00a0of service, or acquire better cars, to\u00a0repair the roads leading to sightseeing\u00a0places etc. The reason for this was\u00a0that we were trying to show a miserable\u00a0image of our homeland, which\u00a0was in need of aid from the Diaspora.\u00a0This was the very beginning, and\u00a0actually it was not bad for the start, as\u00a0it spontaneously gave birth to a pool\u00a0of professionals and an infrastructure.
\nThanks to the first namely non-Armenian\u00a0foreign tourists we began\u00a0to acknowledge that it was not very\u00a0entertaining to show them dozens of\u00a0churches within a week. The well-established\u00a0tourism clich\u00e9s still survive\u00a0now and even the fact, that we understand\u00a0that standard tourist routes\u00a0need reconsideration and replenishment,\u00a0can change nothing. In terms of\u00a0developing infrastructure there is very\u00a0little progress on the part of private\u00a0investors and state agencies. The\u00a0classic example is TaTever ropeway,\u00a0a single successful project that encouraged\u00a0the development of whole\u00a0region. Firstly, thanks to this rope-way\u00a0the southern touristic route became\u00a0essential major one, and secondly,\u00a0a number of hotels, guest houses and\u00a0restaurants were built in that region.<\/p>\n

Internationally acknowledged brand?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Currently we have developed a number\u00a0of historical sightseeing and touristic\u00a0routes. Experienced professionals\u00a0work with us, we offer luxury hotels,\u00a0high quality vehicles, restaurants with\u00a0appetizing menus. All these components\u00a0make us competitive in the field.\u00a0By the way, outbound tourism is one\u00a0of the rarest highly competitive fields\u00a0in Armenia and it brings about reasonable\u00a0pricing and a growth of the volume\u00a0of their services and their quality.
\nIn addition to historical tours we offer\u00a0a number of modern touristic activities\u00a0for people with more specific interests,\u00a0such as winter sports, medical treatment,\u00a0culinary, wine-making, archaeology,\u00a0observation of rural areas, extreme\u00a0tourism, bird watching etc. At this\u00a0stage of the development we face institutional\u00a0and macroeconomic serious\u00a0issues.<\/p>\n

The most essential issue is the\u00a0lack of government\u2019s support for the\u00a0development of the field to promote\u00a0Armenia as a touristic destination in\u00a0the international market. We are not\u00a0competitive abroad and it becomes\u00a0obvious at different foreign exhibitions,\u00a0where we can watch huge thematic\u00a0pavilions of our neighbors which are\u00a0designed with the support of public\u00a0funds next to unattractive and small\u00a0tables, representing Armenian tourism.\u00a0Actually there is no progress in the development\u00a0of different infrastructures\u00a0either: roads, public toilets, information\u00a0centers, training of professionals, establishment of service standards,\u00a0legislative and tax reforms \u2013 all these\u00a0infrastructures need development.<\/p>\n

How to attract young tourists ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seaside and coastal holidays are of\u00a0top demand in general, but we cannot\u00a0offer this kind of tourism. If you\u00a0have an apricot garden it is useless to\u00a0make huge efforts and plant avocado\u00a0instead of increasing apricot yield.\u00a0Increasing of yield would be that Yerevan\u00a0finally met international standards,\u00a0offering a number of leisure and entertainment\u00a0attractions for tourists.\u00a0Just a simple example: there are a few\u00a0pools in hotels. It is impossible to keep tourists interested in Yerevan for more\u00a0than two days. And it is a very serious\u00a0issue. On the other hand there is no\u00a0need to underestimate our tourism,\u00a0which actually possesses its unique\u00a0huge market. However, there are some\u00a0issues concerning the development\u00a0of historical and outdoor tourism. Our\u00a0product needs additional reconsideration.
\nFor instance, if a small outdoor\u00a0tour is added to the traditional route\u00a0to Garni and Geghard, along with\u00a0a refreshment in a rural home, a workshop,\u00a0an animation, or with a concert\u00a0of a spiritual and folk choir, or play of\u00a0duduk, that would be a more expensive,\u00a0but more interesting and a diverse tour.\u00a0Even during a standard group tour in\u00a0European cities tourists do not get so\u00a0much new knowledge and experience\u00a0emotions, as during this kind of tours.\u00a0And these are observations of tourists\u00a0hosted by our agency. If we add the\u00a0hospitality, traditional, caring attitude,\u00a0the delight of a tourist is guaranteed.<\/p>\n

Download the PDF copy<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Share<\/a>